Isaiah 20:6

Easy-to-Read Version

People living along the coast will say, "We trusted those countries to help us. We ran to them so that they would rescue us from the king of Assyria. But look at them. They have been captured, so how can we escape?"

Parallel Translations

Christian Standard Bible®
And the inhabitants of this coastland will say on that day, ‘Look, this is what has happened to those we relied on and fled to for help to rescue us from the king of Assyria! Now, how will we escape?’”

Hebrew Names Version
The inhabitant of this coast-land shall say in that day, Behold, such is our expectation, where we fled for help to be delivered from the king of Ashshur: and we, how shall we escape?

King James Version
And the inhabitant of this isle shall say in that day, Behold, such is our expectation, whither we flee for help to be delivered from the king of Assyria: and how shall we escape?

English Standard Version
And the inhabitants of this coastland will say in that day, ‘Behold, this is what has happened to those in whom we hoped and to whom we fled for help to be delivered from the king of Assyria! And we, how shall we escape?'"

New American Standard Bible
"So the inhabitants of this coastland will say on that day, 'Behold, such is our hope, where we fled for help to be saved from the king of Assyria; and how are we ourselves to escape?'"

New Century Version
People who live near the sea will say, ‘Look at those countries. We trusted them to help us. We ran to them so they would save us from the king of Assyria. So how will we be able to escape?'"

Amplified Bible
"So the inhabitants of this coastland [the Israelites and their neighbors] will say in that day, 'Look what has happened to those in whom we hoped and trusted and to whom we fled for help to be spared from the king of Assyria! But we, how will we escape [captivity and exile]?'"

World English Bible
The inhabitant of this coast-land shall say in that day, Behold, such is our expectation, where we fled for help to be delivered from the king of Assyria: and we, how shall we escape?

Geneva Bible (1587)
Then shall the inhabitant of this yle say in that day, Behold, such is our expectation, whither we fledde for helpe to be deliuered from the King of Asshur, and howe shall we be deliuered?

Legacy Standard Bible
So the inhabitants of this coastland will say in that day, ‘Behold, such is our hope, where we fled for help to be delivered from the king of Assyria; and we, how shall we escape?'"

Berean Standard Bible
And on that day the dwellers of this coastland will say, 'See what has happened to our source of hope, those to whom we fled for help and deliverance from the king of Assyria! How then can we escape?'"

Contemporary English Version
When this happens, the people who live along the coast will say, "Look what happened to them! We ran to them for safety, hoping they would protect us from the king of Assyria. But now, there is no escape for us."

Complete Jewish Bible
On that day, the people living along this coast will say, ‘Look what happened to the people to whom we fled for help, hoping they would rescue us from the king of Ashur! How will we escape now?'"

Darby Translation
And the inhabitants of this coast shall say in that day, Behold, such is our confidence, whither we fled for help to be delivered from the king of Assyria; and how shall we escape?

George Lamsa Translation
And the inhabitants of this isle shall say on that day, Behold, here is our trust, to whom we fled for help to be delivered from the king of Assyria; and how shall we escape?

Good News Translation
When that time comes, the people who live along the coast of Philistia will say, ‘Look at what has happened to the people we relied on to protect us from the emperor of Assyria! How will we ever survive?'"

Lexham English Bible
And the inhabitant of the coastland will say this on that day: ‘Look! This is our hope to whom we fled for help, to be delivered from the king of Assyria, and how shall we escape?'"

Literal Translation
And he who lives in this coast shall say in that day, Behold, this has become of our hope to which we fled for help there, to be delivered from before the king of Assyria; and, How shall we escape?

Miles Coverdale Bible (1535)
Morouer they that dwel in ye Iles shal saye euen the same daye: beholde, this is oure hope, to whom we fled to seke helpe, that we might be delyuered from the kinge of ye Assirians. How will we escape?

American Standard Version
And the inhabitant of this coast-land shall say in that day, Behold, such is our expectation, whither we fled for help to be delivered from the king of Assyria: and we, how shall we escape?

Bible in Basic English
And those living by the sea will say in that day, See the fate of our hope to whom we went for help and salvation from the king of Assyria: what hope have we then of salvation?

JPS Old Testament (1917)
And the inhabitant of this coast-land shall say in that day: Behold, such is our expectation, whither we fled for help to be delivered from the king of Assyria; and how shall we escape?'

King James Version (1611)
And the inhabitant of this yle shall say in that day; Behold, such is our expectation whither we flee for helpe to be deliuered from the king of Assyria: and how shall we escape?

Bishop's Bible (1568)
And they that dwell in the same Isle shall say in that day, Beholde such is our hope, whyther shall we flee for helpe, that we may be delyuered from the kyng of Assyria? And howe shall we escape?

Brenton's Septuagint (LXX)
And they that dwell in this island shall say in that day, Behold, we trusted to flee to them for help, who could not save themselves from the king of the Assyrians: and how shall we be saved?

English Revised Version
And the inhabitant of this coastland shall say in that day, Behold, such is our expectation, whither we fled for help to be delivered from the king of Assyria: and we, how shall we escape?

Wycliffe Bible (1395)
And a dwellere of this ile schal seie in that dai, This was our hope, to which we fledden for help, that thei schulden delyuere vs fro the face of the kyng of Assiryens; and hou moun we ascape?

Update Bible Version
And the inhabitant of this coast-land shall say in that day, Look, such is our expectation, where we fled for help to be delivered from the king of Assyria: and we, how shall we escape?

Webster's Bible Translation
And the inhabitant of this isle shall say in that day, Behold, such [is] our expectation, whither we flee for help to be delivered from the king of Assyria: and how shall we escape?

New English Translation
At that time those who live on this coast will say, ‘Look what has happened to our source of hope to whom we fled for help, expecting to be rescued from the king of Assyria! How can we escape now?'"

New King James Version
And the inhabitant of this territory will say in that day, "Surely such is our expectation, wherever we flee for help to be delivered from the king of Assyria; and how shall we escape?"'

New Living Translation
They will say, ‘If this can happen to Egypt, what chance do we have? We were counting on Egypt to protect us from the king of Assyria.'"

New Life Bible
The people living on this island will say in that day, ‘See, this is what has happened to those in whom we hoped, and to whom we ran for help to be saved from the king of Assyria. Now how can we get away?'"

New Revised Standard
In that day the inhabitants of this coastland will say, ‘See, this is what has happened to those in whom we hoped and to whom we fled for help and deliverance from the king of Assyria! And we, how shall we escape?'"

J.B. Rotherham Emphasized Bible
And the inhabitant of this shore, shall exclaim, in that day, Lo! such, is our expectation, whereunto we fled for help, that we might be delivered from the presence of the king of Assyria! How then shall, we, escape?

Douay-Rheims Bible
And the inhabitants of this isle shall say in that day: Lo this was our hope, to whom we fled for help, to deliver us from the face of the king of the Assyrians: and how shall we be able to escape?

Revised Standard Version
And the inhabitants of this coastland will say in that day, 'Behold, this is what has happened to those in whom we hoped and to whom we fled for help to be delivered from the king of Assyria! And we, how shall we escape?'"

Young's Literal Translation
and the inhabitant of this isle hath said in that day -- Lo, thus [is] our trust, Whither we have fled for help, To be delivered from the king of Asshur, And how do we escape -- we?'

New American Standard Bible (1995)
"So the inhabitants of this coastland will say in that day, 'Behold, such is our hope, where we fled for help to be delivered from the king of Assyria; and we, how shall we escape?'"

Contextual Overview

¹ Sargon was the king of Assyria. He sent his military commander to fight against Ashdod. The commander went there and captured the city. ² At that time the Lord spoke through Isaiah son of Amoz. He said, "Go, take the sackcloth off your waist and the sandals off your feet." So Isaiah obeyed the Lord and went without clothes or sandals. ³ Then the Lord said, "My servant Isaiah has gone without clothes or sandals for three years. This is a sign for Egypt and Ethiopia. ⁴ The king of Assyria will defeat Egypt and Ethiopia. Assyria will take prisoners and lead them away from their countries. The people, young and old, will be led away without clothes or sandals. They will be completely naked. ⁵ Those who looked to Ethiopia for help will be shattered. Those who were amazed by Egypt's glory will be ashamed." ⁶ People living along the coast will say, "We trusted those countries to help us. We ran to them so that they would rescue us from the king of Assyria. But look at them. They have been captured, so how can we escape?"

Bible Verse Review
  from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge

isle: or, country, Job 22:30, Jeremiah 47:4

whither: Isaiah 28:17, Isaiah 30:1-7, Isaiah 30:15, Isaiah 30:16, Isaiah 31:1-3, Job 6:20

and how: Matthew 23:33, 1 Thessalonians 5:3, Hebrews 2:3

Reciprocal: Isaiah 10:3 - And what Isaiah 30:2 - walk Isaiah 30:5 - General Isaiah 36:6 - General Jeremiah 4:30 - And when Jeremiah 5:31 - and what Jeremiah 22:20 - and cry Jeremiah 46:25 - and all Ezekiel 29:6 - a staff Zechariah 9:5 - for Philemon 1:15 - General

Cross-References

Genesis 3:3
But there is one tree we must not eat from. God told us, ‘You must not eat fruit from the tree that is in the middle of the garden. You must not even touch that tree, or you will die.'"

Genesis 20:6
Then God said to Abimelech in a dream, "Yes, I know that you are innocent and that you did not know what you were doing. I saved you. I did not allow you to sin against me. I was the one who did not allow you to sleep with her.

Genesis 20:7
So give Abraham his wife again. He is a prophet. He will pray for you, and you will live. But if you don't give Sarah back to him, I promise that you will die. And all your family will die with you."

Genesis 26:11
So Abimelech gave a warning to all the people. He said, "No one must hurt this man or this woman. If anyone hurts them, they will be killed."

Genesis 31:7
But he cheated me. He has changed my pay ten times. But during all this time, God protected me from all of Laban's tricks.

Genesis 35:5
Then Jacob and his sons left that place. The people in the surrounding cities wanted to follow and kill them, but God filled them with such great fear that they did not go after them.

Genesis 39:9
My master has made me almost equal to him in his house. I cannot sleep with his wife! That is wrong! It is a sin against God."

Exodus 34:24
"When you go into your land, I will force your enemies out of that land. I will expand your borders—you will get more and more land. You will go before the Lord your God three times each year. At that time no one will try to take your land from you.

Leviticus 6:2
"You are guilty of sin against the Lord when you do any of these things: when you lie about what happened to something you were taking care of for someone else; when you lie about a deposit you received; when you steal something; when you cheat someone;

1 Samuel 25:26
The Lord has kept you from killing innocent people. As surely as the Lord lives and you as well, may your enemies and anyone else who wants to harm you be as cursed as Nabal is.

Gill's Notes on the Bible

And the inhabitants of this isle shall say, in that day,.... Not of Ashdod, Isaiah 20:1 or the isle of Caphtor, Jeremiah 47:4 but the land of Israel, as both Jarchi and Kimchi interpret it; so called, because it bordered on the sea, as such countries are sometimes called isles; see Jeremiah 25:22. Ben Melech interprets it of Jerusalem, and observes that the word signifies a place or country, whether it has a river or sea encompassing it, or not; besides, the land of Canaan had the Mediterranean sea on one side of it, and the sea of Galilee and Tiberias on the other, and was moreover separated from all other countries by the power, providence, and presence of God:

behold, such [is] our expectation, whither we flee for help, to be delivered from the king of Assyria; signifying that it was vain and foolish, and they had acted a very weak, as well as a wicked part, in having recourse to the Egyptians and Ethiopians to help them against the Assyrians, as it plainly appeared by both nations now being conquered by them:

and how shall we escape? seeing they had not, who were more powerful than they were; and how could they think that they could save them, who could not save themselves? and so the Targum,

"if they have not delivered their souls (themselves), how shall we be delivered?''

Barnes' Notes on the Bible

And the inhabitant - The dwellers generally.

Of this isle - The word אי 'iy “isle” is used here in the sense of “coast, or maritime” country, and is evidently applied to Palestine, or the land of Canaan, which is a narrow coast lying on the Mediterranean. That the word is often used in this sense, and may be applied to a maritime country, see the notes at Isaiah 13:22; Isaiah 41:1. The connection here requires us to understand it of Palestine.

Shall say ... - Shall condemn their own folly in trusting in Egypt, and seeking deliverance there.

And how shall we escape? - They shall be alarmed for their own safety, for the very nation on which they had relied had been made captive. And when the “stronger” had been subdued, how could the feeble and dependent escape a similar overthrow and captivity? All this was designed to show them the folly of trusting in the aid of another nation, and to lead them to put confidence in the God of their fathers.